Races, games, music and more…
By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD — It’s the Fall festival of family fun that has become a favorite staple celebrating everything Oxford, the annual Scarecrow Festival.
The festival, organized by the Oxford Downtown Development Authority, features local businesses and community groups, a chili cookoff showcasing several downtown restaurants, the 5K race, the police and fire departments expo, improv shows, chalk art, crafts and more fun and games for the whole family.
DDA Executive Director Kelly Westbrook said she was thrilled with the turnout, which was comparable to previous years. Additional activities to this year’s festival, such as the cornhole tournament, also spread the festival to both sides of M-24.
“We try to make it so that families can come out, but even if you don’t have kids there’s something for everybody,” Westbrook said.
Westbrook added that she was happy that so many Oxford restaurants and businesses participated this year – from sponsoring events, to putting up booths in the vendor marketplace and Centennial Park.
“I think the fact that it’s family-oriented and there is something for everybody. Some of the favorites are the chili cookoff – that’s a definite favorite that people really enjoy – and also the amount of participation we get from businesses now,” Westbrook said. “Hopefully, the pie-eating contest is one of the peoples’ favorites because that’s always a good time.”
Scarecrow Festival of Races
Alex Pollack of Lake Orion won the 5K race with a time of 17:58.6 minutes. Meg Darmofal of Leslie, Mich., was the top female finisher and fifth overall with a time of 21:04.4.
Jason Eldridge was the top Oxford runner, finishing third overall with a time of 20.27.2.
Oxford eighth grader Lucas Eldridge won the one-mile race, followed by sixth grader Lili Eldridge in second place. The races also included a Pumpkin Dash for the little kids.
“Each year we add a little bit more, and we had over a 100 people participate this year,” Westbrook said.
Chili Cookoff
For the first time in the history of the Scarecrow Festival Chili Cookoff, one participant took home both the People’s Choice and Judges’ Awards. The team at HomeGrown Brewing Co. were this year’s chili champs.
Also participating with their culinary creations were the Oxford Tap, K-Blocks Fire Pit BBQ, Sullivan’s, Red Knapps and the Oxford Township team of C.J. Carnacchio, Connie Miller and Daniel Smith, who also raised awareness and collected donations for the Oxford Free Meals program at Immanuel Congregational Church.